If your car has been broken into, and one of the side windows has been smashed, it will be important to take care of some things right before you get the glass repair. Though you will need to get a glass repair specialist to replace your window soon, there are some things that you will need to take care of before putting a new window into the mix. Here are three steps that you should take when you find out that your car window has been smashed. 

Call the police and consult the cameras

If you come outside to find out that your car window is smashed, the first call that you will need to make is to the police. The police will need to make a report of the break-in and note any damage and anything that is missing. This will be an especially crucial point if you plan to use your insurance to fix the damage. The police may need to take evidence from your car as well, so be sure not to touch anything. If there are cameras in the area that may have filmed your car, you should ask the businesses if they can go back into the footage and find out who damaged your vehicle. 

Remove the mats and vacuum the vehicle

Since it is most likely that your car window was smashed from the outside, you should remove the floor mats in your car. Pieces of broken glass, both large and very small, are likely to be inside of the floor mat. If you have children, this will be important as you do not want them to become injured on the glass. Throw your floor mats away then put down a towel over the seats after you have brushed out any glass. Once the glass is brushed out, you should put a towel in the seat if anyone needs to ride in the seat. 

Have the glass repair shop take photographs

Taking photographs of the damage will be important for any type of claim that you may need. Once you drive your car to the glass repair shop, have them take pictures before they perform the work and pictures once the work is completed. Get any tinting that you previously had on the window done along with the window replacement. Afterwards, collect the bill from the glass repair company in order to have comprehensive proof for your insurance claim.